Guatemala

The current permanent year-round medical clinics are in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Honduras, with the fourth to be established in Guatemala soon. Shown here are VCOM and Guatemalan partners.

To assure the clinics are sustainable, VCOM has forged strategic partnerships where the clinics were established. These partnerships include local community leaders and organizations, local medical schools, and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In addition, VCOM has assured approvals through the Ministry of Health in each site. VCOM provides badly-needed care to underserved areas, shares medical education topics with faculty and students from partnering international medical schools, and provides shared resources with the partnering NGOs.

The approach VCOM is creating demonstrates that American medical schools can make a positive sustainable difference in the care of the underserved both in the U.S. and abroad. Partnering with Central America and the Dominican Republic provides VCOM students with an advantage in the care of a rapidly expanding Spanish culture in the U.S.

Our commitment to global health by establishing local health clinics and responding to disasters is discussed further in our overview of Medical Missions and in each Mission site Web page of the Medical Missions section. Click below or on the links to the right to go to information on Appalachia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, and El Salvador.